Alexandria Potter Reads Her Life
by The Pessimistic Dreamer
Summary: Hello! This is my first story ever, so give it a chance? Please? *puppy dog eyes* Anyway, this story is about a select group of people reading the Harry Potter books, or rather, the Alexandria Potter books. Fem!Harry! There might be some changes later, but I wanted to get this out. Rated T just in case. Apologies, but this story has been discontinued. See my page for the new one.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi all! This is my first story, I hope you like it! This first chapter isn't very long... It's more of a prologue. But anyway, I hope you enjoy my story! Oh, right. Disclaimer. None of this belongs to me.**

Alexandria Lily Potter stared dully at the wall, trying not to dwell on what had just happened. She was in the Hospital wing, right after Sirius left, after the third task. She knew she could have gone back to her dorm, but she didn't feel up to the inevitable confrontation by Lavender and Parvati if she returned now. 'I was so stupid!' She thought angrily. 'I wish I hadn't done that! I wish I could change things…' she thought. Then, much to her surprise, a stack of books appeared at the foot of her bed, with a note in unrecognizable handwriting on top. She broke out of her silent vigil and leaned forward, only to leap back in surprise. The book on top was called "Alexandria Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Recovering from her shock a few seconds later, Alex reached out and grabbed the note on top.

_Alexandria,_

_Take these books to the Headmaster, and tell him to gather the following people:_

_The entire Weasley Family_

_Sirius Black_

_Remus Lupin_

_Severus Snape_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Augusta Longbottom_

_Hermione Granger_

_Neville Longbottom_

_Luna Lovegood_

_Draco Malfoy_

_Amelia Bones_

_Then you must tap this note with your wand and say "it is done." Some more very important people will appear in front of you, but you must keep calm. Together, this group must read these books. The best of luck to you._

The note was unsigned. Alex knew she ought to be confused, but she wasn't. She was just numb. She rose and walked in a zombie-like state to the Headmaster's office with the list and the books. "Cockroach Cluster." She said quickly, and moved forwards as soon as the gargoyle leapt aside.

"Ah, Miss Potter. What can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

"I wouldn't bother you, Professor, but these books just showed up on my bed, along with this note." She held it all out to him, and watched his eyebrows climb higher and higher as he first read the note, and then looked at the books.

"This is… Interesting." He mused. "I shall call these people immediately. Though I do wonder about Mr. Malfoy…" Alex nodded uncertainly. "How about I get Hermione and the Weasleys who are still at school? Then we could meet in the Great Hall." She suggested. When Dumbledore nodded, Alex left for the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Fred! George! Ron! Hermione! Ginny! Neville!" She called as she opened the portrait-hole.

"Ooh, Alex, are you alright?" Hermione asked. Alex just nodded impatiently.

"These books just appeared on my bed… They're about me! I'm supposed to take you six down to the Great Hall, to read them." She said quickly, and the seven of them set off.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Alex saw that Snape, McGonagall, Malfoy, Luna Lovegood, Mrs. Longbottom, and Madame Bones were all already there.

"What's going on?" Malfoy asked, partly curious and partly disdainful.

"Ah, you will see in a minute, my boy." Dumbledore replied, smiling serenely. Just then, there was a flash of flames and Sirius, Remus, and the rest of the Weasleys appeared. Dumbledore took out his wand and touched it to the parchment. "It is done." He said softly, and there was another flash, this time of bright white light. When the light faded, there was a group of people standing there, looking very confused.

"What's going on?" A girl about Alex's age asked, and Alex nearly fainted from shock. When she focused on the girl, she saw that it was nearly a carbon copy of herself, but with brilliant green eyes.

"Mum?" She whispered. Lily Evans' eyes snapped to Alex.

"Who are you? Why do you look like me?" She asked confusedly. Alex looked up at Dumbledore.

"I believe that I can answer that, Miss Evans." He said calmly. "You and your friends are in the future, if I am not mistaken." Here he turned to the whole room. "You are here to read some very special books that Miss Potter here—" James Potter's eyes snapped to Alex as well. "found. The first one is called 'Alexandria Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Alex scowled at the use of her full name, but Hermione gasped.

"But—But—That's what happened our first year!" She exclaimed. Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, Miss Granger. These books appear to be about yours and Miss Potter's time at Hogwarts."

"Why do we care about what happened to Potter?" Draco Malfoy complained.

"I assure you, I do not know, but I assume that it will all become clear eventually." Dumbledore replied. "Now, I believe some introductions are in order." He said, looking pointedly at the group in the center.

"Er, I'm Lily Evans." Lily said, stepping forward uncertainly.

"James Potter."

"Remus Lupin."

"Peter Pettigrew." Some people needed to hold back growls at that, telling themselves that the fourteen year old boy in front of them hadn't done a thing yet.

"Sirius Black." Others held back growls, but not nearly so many because most of them knew the truth.

"Regulus Black." Here, the elder Sirius looked at him, undisguised regret and sadness in his eyes.

"Severus Snape."

"Alice Prewett."

"Frank Longbottom." At these names, Neville paled and Augusta neared tears.

"Hermione Granger."

"Ron Weasley."

"Fred Weasley."

"George Weasley."

"Ginny Weasley."

"Percy Weasley."

"Bill Weasley."

"Charlie Weasley."

"Arthur Weasley."

"Molly Weasley."

"Luna Lovegood."

"Draco Malfoy."

"Amelia Bones."

"Minerva McGonagall."

"Severus Snape." The younger Snape looked up in surprise, but said nothing.

"Augusta Longbottom." Frank glanced up at his mother.

"Neville Longbottom." Frank stared at his son. "Hi Dad." He said weakly, and then looked at Alice. "Hi Mum." Alice and Frank both jumped, startled, before blushing profusely. "Now is as good a time as any…" Frank muttered. "Alice Prewett, will you be my girlfriend?" He asked quickly. "Yes!" she exclaimed, kissing him soundly on the lips. Dumbledore cleared his throat, and they sprang apart.

"After that interesting display… I'm Sirius Black, er, the elder?" Younger Sirius looked at his elder self, shocked at his gaunt appearance. "Later." He said, seeing his younger self's look.

"Remus Lupin, er, Senior." Mini Remus did a repeat performance of Sirius. Alex stepped forward, grinning nervously.

"I'm Alexandria Lily Potter." She said, looking at her parents. "Hi Mum, hi Dad." She said softly. James and Lily gasped, turning to each other in surprise.

"But you hate me!" They exclaimed simultaneously. "I don't hate you…" They said, together again.

"I hate your methods and attitude." Lily explained. "But I like you, and how you could be." She added, blushing delicately.

"I love you, Lily Evans. I have since the first train ride." James said quietly, and Lily looked up, startled.

"Let us deal more with this later." Dumbledore said.

"Alright… But Alexandria, will you come sit by me?" Lily requested, and James moved to sit on the other side.

"Sure, just don't call me Alexandria any more. It's Alex." Alex requested. As she sat down between her parents, she felt her insides start to go crazy. Her parents! Right here! She felt herself start to hyperventilate, and took a deep breath.

"Now, let us begin in our quest." Dumbledore declared. "I shall read first." He opened the book. "**Chapter One. The Girl Who Lived.**"


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER:THIS DOES NOT BELONG TO ME!

A/N: Sorry it took so long... I was on vacation, and our hotel didn't have wifi. But it was worth it, and I went to HARRY POTTER WORLD! Sorry, fangirl moment. Okay, on with the story.

* * *

"**Chapter One. The Girl Who Lived.**" The people from the past were all understandably confused, but decided to just let it be for now. "**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,**"

"Dursley?" Lily questioned. My sister's dating a guy named Dursley…" She trailed off, unsure of what to make of this.

** "of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you would expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense."**

"Yeah, because that's not foreshadow at all…" Younger Remus said dryly. The people from the present all declined comment, because they knew that that was exactly what it was.

**"Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck," **

"That sounds like Petunia!" Lily exclaimed. Both Snapes nodded in agreement.

** "which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere." **Alex snorted darkly, and various people looked concernedly at her. James and Lily were wondering how it was that she knew that, but figured they would find out later. **"The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters."** There were several cries of outrage.

"And just _WHAT_ is wrong with the Potters, may I ask?" Sirius Jr. roared. Remus could be heard growling.

"Calm down!" James shouted, trying to calm his best friends. Peter just sat there, looking back and forth between everyone, unsure of what to do.

"Listen to James, guys. I never thought I'd say this, but he's right. My sister hates everything magical. It's not just them, er, us. Believe me." Lily explained downheartedly.

"Shall I commence the reading?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly. There was a murmur of assent. **"Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish" **

"That's not a word!" Hermione exclaimed, shaking her head. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he continued on with the story.

**"as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street." **

"I see they act as one entity." McGonagall pointed out distastefully.

"My sister only has half a brain, so it fits!" Lily said, just a little venomously. Everyone but the Snapes looked surprised.

"Lily! I didn't think you had a venomous bone in your body!" Alice exclaimed. Lily just glared at the book.

"I think you can tell that her sister is an exception, can't you, Prewett?" Younger Severus snapped angrily, putting a hand comfortingly on Lily's shoulder. All the current Hogwarts students looked on in surprise. Snape? Friends with a Muggleborn and a Gryffindor? Alex was by far the most confused. If her mother and Snape had been friends, why was he so mean to her? She shook her head and caught Dumbledore's eye, gesturing to the book. Chuckling, Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"If I may… **The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small child, too, but they had never even seen her. This girl was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that."**

"A CHILD LIKE WHAT?" Was exclaimed by all who knew and loved Alex.

"Alex is a wonderful girl! I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to know her!" Molly Weasley declared. Alex blushed.

"I could see people not wanting to know her… She's a bumbling idiot, and she has no sense of self preservation!" Malfoy said snidely, unable to come up with anything worse. Seeing that this would be happening a lot, Dumbledore decided to continue reading without any prompting this time, in order to keep most of the room from attacking the poor Slytherin boy.

**"When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work," **

"Why would he want to do that?" the Weasley twins cried together, dismayed.

"He has no imagination or appreciation of creativity and individuality." Alex explained monotonously. The twins just shook their heads sadly.

**"and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair. None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window."**

"What's an owl doing in a muggle neighborhood?!" Was exclaimed by various people. Dumbledore sighed.

"I believe it was going to Mrs. Arabella Figg." He explained.

"But she left the Wizarding community when her husband died! Everyone knows that!" Frank exclaimed. Dumbledore nodded, sighing again. He knew now what day it was; as, it seemed, did Minerva.

"Albus. It's _The Day_, isn't it?" She asked shakily. He nodded sadly, and Minerva hung her head. She was not sure she was ready to relive _The Day_ yet, especially not with Lily and James.

"We will just have to get it over with as fast as possible." He said softly, before continuing to read. **"At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. 'Little tyke,' chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house."**

"They condone that behavior?!" Molly Weasley exclaimed. It was an insult to parenthood, in her opinion. Alex just rolled her eyes.

"Yes Mrs. Weasley. They condone that and so much more." She said quietly. She knew she was just adding fuel to the fire that was her mother's curiosity, but she couldn't help it.

"How do you know that?" Lily asked suspiciously. Alex just glared at the ground, but Ron decided to come to her rescue.

"You'll see, Mrs… er, Lily." He said, blushing when he almost referred to her as Mrs. Potter. If Lily noticed the slip, however, she said nothing, only nodding confusedly. Here, Dumbledore continued.

**"He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar – a cat reading a map." **Minerva smiled slightly at this. **"For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen – then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light." **By this point, many people were starting to figure out that it was, in fact, their very own Professor McGonagall that Mr. Dursley was describing.

"Or a trick of magic!" Peter squealed, giggling madly. He was the least mature of the group. Alex, Sirius Sr., Remus Sr., Hermione, and Ron were all glaring at him, as if they were trying to burn a hole in his head, and the past crowd was looking on confusedly. In order to diffuse the tension, Dumbledore started reading again.

**"Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back." **James shook his head.

"Only you, Professor, only you." He muttered, smiling slightly.

**"As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive – no, ****_looking_**** at the sign; cats couldn't read maps ****_or_**** signs."**

"McGonagall can!" The Marauders and twins sang. Said teacher just smiled serenely, trying to keep her emotions at bay. Dumbledore chuckled merrily and continued on with the story.

**"Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day."**

"One track mind, much?" Remus Jr. asked dryly.

**"But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks." ** All of the purebloods looked confused, but Regulus spoke for them.

"Why are cloaks strange?" He asked confusedly.

"I believe the Muggles don't wear cloaks in the summer. They're smart. They know they only need protection from the Wimblies in the winter." Luna said dreamily. Several people jumped, having forgotten that she was there.

"What's a Wimbly?" Regulus asked, confused again.

"Oh, they're little bugs that attack your skin and make it peel. But they can only survive if its below freezing, so they only come out in the winter." Luna explained serenely. Regulus looked as if he was going to question her again, but Ginny put a hand on his shoulder, and he stopped. _(AN: I was thinking of pairing Regulus with either Ginny or Luna, but then again, they're all only 13.)_

"It's true though, my dear boy. Muggles do not wear cloaks and robes as we do." Dumbledore explained before going back to the story. **"Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes – the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together."**

"They should know not to do that in broad daylight!" Lily exclaimed, surprised.

"Ah, my dear, this was a very special day, and several people rather let their guard down." Dumbledore explained genially. "Now, back to the story? Yes. **Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him!" **the twins made to comment, but Molly silenced them with a look. **"But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt – these people were obviously collecting for something… yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. ****_He_**** didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though the people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead." **

"Honestly! I know that day was important, but this is a serious breach of the Statute of Secrecy!" Amelia burst out, speaking for the first time. Augusta turned to her friend, smiling slightly.

"Amelia, this was all years ago. I'm fairly certain that nothing bad came of it." She said gently. Amelia just nodded, defeated. She was usually a stickler for the rules, but she could tell that protesting was going to get her nowhere in these reading sessions.

**"Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood by lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs" **

"NO!" Cried Alex sarcastically.

Dumbledore smiled and continued on patiently as if she hadn't said anything. **"to buy himself a bun from the bakery."**

"The world is right again!" Alex exclaimed dramatically, putting a hand to her forehead. Her classmates were all confused, having never seen this lighthearted version of Alex before.

"Never knew you had a sense of humor, Lexie!" Charlie Weasley said, using the nickname he had made for her over the past summer. Alex just smiled mischievously.

**"He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying. 'The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard—' '—yes, their daughter, Alex—' **All the past people looked at Alex curiously. Unconsciously, Alex gripped both of her parents tighter. They both noticed this, but said nothing. **"Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name." **"Sensing the dissent, Dumbledore said "It isn't in the Muggle world." And continued on. **"He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a daughter named Alex. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his niece ****_was_**** called Alex. He'd never even seen the girl. It might have been Alice. Or Amanda. **

"No offence, Ali, but I would never name my child either of those." Lily stated. Alice shook her head.

"None taken, don't worry." She said, silently agreeing.

**"There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her – if ****_he'd _****had a sister like that…" **

"A sister like what, may I ask?" Alice asked, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Magical." Severus Jr. grunted bluntly.

**"but all the same, those people in cloaks… He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door. 'Sorry,' he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passerby stare,"**

"Flitwick!" Everyone said simultaneously. Dumbledore chuckled again and continued reading.

**"'****Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who****has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating this happy, happy day!'" **All the people from the past gasped.

"He's gone? He's really gone?" Sirius asked disbelievingly. Dumbledore and Alex exchanged a glance before Alex spoke.

"For now… He—he just came back." She said quickly, not wanting to talk about it. Before the uproar could begin, Dumbledore continued.

**"And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off. Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination."**

"Oh, the horror!" The Marauders and twins exclaimed dramatically.

**"As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw – and it didn't improve his mood – was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning."**

"Still?" Bill questioned curiously. "Why so long?"

"All will be answered in time." McGonagall answered cryptically.

**"It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes. 'Shoo!' said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

"Not going to work!" James sang happily. He knew this one from experience.

**"The cat didn't move."**

"I told you so!" James shouted.

"No one disagreed, James." Lily said condescendingly. James pouted, but didn't retort.

**"It just gave him a stern look."** Everyone laughed at that. **"Was this normal cat behavior?" **

"NO!"

**"Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife. Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter"**

"No offence, but-"

"We don't really care." Said the twins.

**"and how Dudley had learned a new word ('Won't!')." **

"That's charming…" Neville muttered, a little surprised at his own nerve.

"That's awful parenting! They shouldn't be proud of that!" Molly exclaimed angrily.

"Not-so-stellar parenting is one of the Dursleys' many failings." Alex reminded her. Molly just shook her head sadly.

"I know dear, I know." She said. Lily couldn't take it anymore.

"But _how_ do you know?" She cried.

"All will be described in time, my dear girl." Dumbledore said, noting concernedly how Alex flinched at the use of the word 'girl'. "Shall I get back to the story?" He asked, before continuing anyway. **"Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news: 'And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern.'" **

"See? I told you it was bad…" Amelia said irritatedly.

"They didn't know the cause though, did they?" Augusta reminded her.

**"The newscaster allowed himself a grin. 'Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?'**

** 'Well, Ted,' said the weatherman, 'I don't know about that, but it's not only owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars!"**

"SHOOTING STARS?!" Amelia shrieked furiously. "This is too far." She declared.

"In the future, you mean, Madame Bones. This all happened when I was a baby!" Alex reminded her, grinning.

"Yes, well…" Amelia trailed off. Dumbledore continued.

**"Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early – it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight.' Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters... Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. **

"What, the tea was no good?" Ron asked jokingly.

**"He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. 'Er – Petunia, dear – you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?' As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry."**

"Of course she did." Lily said exasperatedly. "I don't like her, but even I couldn't have imagined us stopping speaking to each other!" She said with a hint of sadness. Alex was surprised. She didn't think her mother had even wanted anything to do with Petunia!

**"After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister. 'No,' she said sharply. 'Why?' **

**'Funny stuff on the news,' Mr. Dursley mumbled. 'Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny looking people in town today…' **

**'****_So?_****' Snapped Mrs. Dursley. **

**'Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with... you know… ****_her_**** crowd.'"**

"HER crowd? What's that supposed to mean?" Several people cried indignantly.

"Magical people." Severus Jr. replied again, having experienced Petunia's attitude before.

**"Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name 'Potter.' He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, 'Their daughter – she'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't she?'**

** 'I suppose so,' said Mrs. Dursley stiffly. **

**'What's her name again? Alice, isn't it?' **

**'Alex. Nasty, common name, if you ask me. And unisex, too.'"**

"Alex is not a nasty name!" Lily defended angrily.

**"'Oh, yes,' said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. 'Yes, I quite agree.' He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there."**

"STILL?"

**"It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something. Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of – well, he didn't think he could bear it. The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters ****_were_**** involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind.…"**

"Yes, we know all too well." Lily snarled.

**"He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on – he yawned and turned over – it couldn't affect ****_them_****...**

**How very wrong he was."**

"That doesn't sound good…" Peter observed.

"No dip!" Sirius Jr. exclaimed.

"No, you're right Peter. It doesn't." Remus Jr. said a little more kindly, but still feeling rather ominous.

"What's going on, Professor Dumbledore?" Lily asked anxiously.

"We shall soon see, Miss Evans." Said Dumbledore. **"Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all."**

"Professor! What on earth are you doing? You've been out for nearly 18 hours!" Ginny exclaimed. McGonagall just smiled grimly.

**"A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground."**

"Nope, Apparated!" James said happily.

"Yes Dad, we know that." Alex said unthinkingly.

"Dad? Merlin, that sounds weird." Said James the fourteen year old merrily. "I've got to be the youngest dad around!" He said. Alex, meanwhile, was mortified and confused. How had she so easily slipped and called him 'Dad'? She hadn't used that title for a person since she was 15 months old! She didn't say anything though, so as not to ruin the moment. After a minute, Dumbledore continued.

**"The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed. Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and bear, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept to the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice."**

"DUMBLEDORE!" Everyone cheered.

**"This man's name was Albus Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. **Oh, I knew, I just didn't care." Dumbledore added, eyes twinkling. **"He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize that he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered 'I should have known.' He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a pop."**

"Wicked!" The twins exclaimed. "I want one!"

"Ah, unfortunately the Deluminator is one of a kind, I apologize Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley. **He clicked it again – the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, **– Another name for my invention—**until the only lights left on the whole street were the two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it. 'Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall.' He turned to smile at the tabby, but it was gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes." **

"The book makes it seem like your more desirable form is as a cat, Professor." Remus Jr. pointed out, smirking.

"That is quite enough, Mr. Lupin." Minerva snapped.

"Yes Professor." Remus said, smirking more at his Professor's glare.

"Ah, shall we continue? Wonderful." Dumbledore said. **"She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn in a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled."**

"Ruffled? I never thought of Professor McGonagall as ruffled." Said Ginny thoughtfully. She too was silenced with said Professor's glare.

**"'How did you know it was me?' she asked.**

**'My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly.'" **The whole room burst into laughter. "Well, it's true, isn't it?" Dumbledore asked placidly, before going back to reading.

**"'You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day,' said Professor McGonagall.**

**'All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here.'**

** Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. "Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right,' she said impatiently. 'You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no – even the Muggles have noticed something's going on."**

"Finally someone is being sensible!" Amelia cried.

** "It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. 'I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars…. Well, they're not completely stupid."**

"And they are somewhat stupid?" Lily asked angrily. As much as she didn't like her sister, she loved her family.

"Yes." Draco said plaintively. Everyone ignored him.

"No, Miss Evans. I certainly did not mean that at all. I merely meant that even the stupid ones would notice what was going on." Professor McGonagall replied soothingly.

"If you're sure…" Lily said doubtfully, but she gestured for Dumbledore to keep reading.

**"They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent – I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense.'"**

"I like Diggle!" Alex and Bill exclaimed at the same time. "Wow, we spoke in unison." They said, looking at each other. "Oh, this is creepy." Again, together.

"We aren't twins!" Alex exclaimed. Ginny patted her shoulder.

"There, there, Alex dearest. Better Bill than Percy, no?" she said teasingly. Percy scowled. "Sorry Perce!" Ginny sang.

**"'You can't blame them,' said Dumbledore gently. 'We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years.'"**

"ELEVEN YEARS?" The Alice shrieked. "Eleven years? That bastard stuck around for that long?" She demanded, scowling.

"Language, Alice." Augusta chided, but she nodded sadly. "Yes dear, eleven years." All the past party (excepting Regulus, who was thinking about becoming a Death Eater) paled.

"You will understand how and why if you let Professor Dumbledore keep reading!" Draco called out, getting frustrated. He didn't want to be here much longer, but the more time people spent commenting, the more time the whole process would take.

"Mr. Malfoy is quite right." Dumbledore agreed. Everyone quieted down. "Excellent.

** 'I know that,' said Professor McGonagall irritably. 'But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors.' She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. 'A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really ****_has_**** gone, Dumbledore?'**

**'It certainly seems so,' said Dumbledore."**

"Seems? Isn't he?" Peter asked fearfully.

"I decline comment." Alex said determinedly. "You'll find out later."

**"'We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?'"**

"Nice change of subject, Professor." Sirius Sr. commented, grinning.

"Why thank you, Sirius." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a box of lemon drops. "Would anybody like a lemon drop?" the whole room laughed.

**"'A ****_what_****?'**

** 'A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of. '**

** 'No, thank you,' said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. 'As I say, even if You-Know-Who ****_has_**** gone—'**

** 'My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this You-Know-Who nonsense – for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: ****_Voldemort_****.' Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. 'It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."**

"Fear of a name only increases fear of a thing itself." Alex, Hermione and, surprisingly, Ginny chanted. Dumbledore smiled at them happily.

"Exactly, my dear ladies." He said.

** "'I know you haven't,' said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. 'But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, alright, ****_Voldemort_****, was frightened of.'**

** 'You flatter me,' said Dumbledore calmly. 'Voldemort had powers I will never have.'"**

"Yeah, but you have powers You-Know-Who will never have!" Neville exclaimed.

"This is very true, thank you Mr. Longbottom." Minerva said pointedly. Dumbledore just continued reading.

**"'Only because you're too – well – ****_noble_**** to use them.'**

** '****It's lucky it's dark, I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my ne****w earmuffs.'"**

"TMI!" The Marauders screamed, holding their hands on their ears. Dumbledore chuckled again.

**"Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, 'The owls are nothing next to the ****_rumors_**** that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?'"**

"What is it?" Lily asked with a burning curiosity.

"How did it happen?" James asked with just as much curiosity as his wife-to-be.

"You will soon see what the rumors are, although the specifics are still not 100% today." Dumbledore told them. **"It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever 'everyone' was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

** 'What they're ****_saying_****,' she pressed on, 'is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow."**

"But that's where my parents live!" James said worriedly. Dumbledore just nodded sadly.

**"He went to find the Potters."**

"No." Remus Jr. muttered disbelievingly. Remus Sr., Sirius Sr., Alex, and Professor McGonagall all had tears in their eyes. The atmosphere darkened significantly.

**"The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are – are – that they're – ****_dead._****'"**

"NO!" Sirius and Severus Jr. screamed. All the future people were unashamedly crying now. James and Lily were both pale as a sheet, and Alex was shaking between them. Severus Jr. and Sirius Jr. clung to their best friends' sides, and the remaining Marauders from both generations approached quietly. Sirius and Remus Sr. were both crying, but took it upon themselves to comfort their friends and past selves. Sirius wrapped his arms around Alex, and she leaned into him, sobbing.

"How? Why?" Severus Jr. mumbled. His older self came to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Severus Jr. looked up to see tears in his older counterpart's eyes, but a very practiced control held them there. Lily looked up at Severus Sr.

"What's going on, Sev? Why us?" She asked quietly. Severus just squeezed her shoulder, hand trembling slightly, and said,

"I don't know, Lily. I don't know." He knew, but he regretted it, and he didn't want to lose his best friend once more within the space of a day. And to him, it was a different person who betrayed the Potters, and he held that piece of himself as a separate entity. Hopefully now that his younger self was here learning all this, none of it would happen.

Just then, Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I am sure you are all devastated, as you have a right to be, but you must keep in mind that we are here to change what we can, and prevent what will come if we must. And to do this, we must continue to learn what it is we are changing. So if I may, I will commence reading once more." Several people nodded, and Dumbledore drew a shaky breath before continuing. **"Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped. 'Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…' Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder.**

** 'I know… I know…' he said heavily. **

** Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. 'That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's daughter, Alexandria." **More gasps.

"But how did you survive?" Regulus asked doubtfully.

"I don't know." Alex said dully. Lily grasped her hand and squeezed tightly. Alex smiled gratefully at her, and Dumbledore continued again.

**"But – he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little girl. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Alexandria Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke – and that's why he's gone.'**

** Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

** 'It's – it's ****_true_****?' faltered Professor McGonagall. 'After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little girl? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Alexandria survive?'**

** 'We can only guess,' said Dumbledore. 'We may never know.' Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, 'Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?''Yes,' said Professor McGonagall. 'And I don't suppose you're going to tell me ****_why_**** you're here, of all places?'**

** 'I've come to bring Alex to her aunt and uncle. They're the only family she has left now.'" **Alex scowled at that.

"You mean the entire Potter family tree was wiped out? But we're related to almost every pureblood family in Britain!" James exclaimed angrily, seeing Alex's scowl.

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I'm afraid that everyone close enough to her to count as family was, indeed, killed." He continued quickly, before more questions could be asked.

**"You don't mean – you ****_can't _**** mean the people who live ****_here_****?' cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. 'Dumbledore – you can't. I've been watching them all day. You can't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son – I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Alexandria Potter come and live here!'**

** 'It's the best place for her,' said Dumbledore firmly. 'Her aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to her when she's older. I've written them a letter.'"**

"A letter?" Lily asked faintly. "You can't be serious, Professor. You think Petunia will just start accepting any daughter of mine because of a letter?" Dumbledore just nodded.

"They are family, Lily, and she was a baby. Surely Petunia wouldn't resent a baby! Surely she wouldn't deny her own kin a home." When Lily and Alex both shook their heads emphatically, Dumbledore sighed. "Alex is still here, is she not?"

"That's about all you can say though!" Alex shot back.

"They can't have been that bad, my dear girl." Alex flinched again, and Dumbledore began to wonder just what was wrong. "We will soon find out though, will we not?" He asked, and he picked up the book again.

**"'A letter?' repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. 'Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand her!"**

"That's an understatement." Alex growled under her breath. James, Lily, and both Remus's and Sirius's looked at her concernedly. Lily was wondering just what her sister had done to her daughter.

**"She'll be famous – a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Alexandria Potter day in the future – there will be books written about Alexandria – every child in our world will know her name!'"**

"I wish they didn't." Alex muttered. Malfoy looked up, surprised. Did Potter really not want her fame? He had always assumed that she loved it… This was all so confusing. He decided then and there to look at the rest of these books giving Potter a clean slate, and make decisions and such as they came along.

**"'Exactly,' said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. 'It would be enough to turn any girl's head. Famous before she can walk and talk! Famous for something she won't even remember!"**

"I do so remember it." Alex said angrily.

**"Can't you see how much better off she'll be, growing up away from all that until she's ready to take it?'"**

"No." Lily, Severus Jr., and Alex said simultaneously.

"Can you really see Lexie getting a big head, Professor?" Charlie asked roughly. He was upset, because if all this hadn't happened, he might have had her as a sister.

"We would have taken her!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Yes we would! And do you really think she could have an inflated ego living with this lot?" Molly demanded, gesturing at all her children.

"I could have had a sister!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I think of you as a sister already, Ginny." Alex said, hugging the girl.

"Yes, well…" Dumbledore said awkwardly. "I still have reasons for her to stay there, although you mustn't know them yet. I assume you will find out eventually." This had rapidly turned into an 'It seemed like a good idea at the time' moment, but he would never admit it. Hurriedly, Dumbledore brought the focus back to the book.

**"Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, 'Yes – yes, you're right, of course."**

"Professor! How could you agree?" Ginny demanded protectively. McGonagall shook her head.

"I believed it for the best! After all, how could I guarantee that she wouldn't turn out like her father?" McGonagall explained. James turned red.

**"But how is the girl getting here, Dumbledore?' She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Alexandria under it."**

"You weren't, were you?" Molly asked threateningly. Dumbledore shook his head.

**"'Hagrid's bringing her.'**

** 'You think it – ****_wise _****– to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?'"**

"I would trust Hagrid with my life!" Nearly everyone shouted in defiance.

**"'I would trust Hagrid with my life,' said Dumbledore. **

** '****I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place,' said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, 'but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to – what was that?' A rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky – and a huge motorcycle****fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them."**

"Wicked! I want one of those!" Sirius Jr. exclaimed, while Sirius Sr. gazed ahead wistfully, missing his motorbike terribly.

**"If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed,"**

Malfoy snorted. "That's for sure." Everyone glared at him.

**"and so ****_wild_**** – long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms, he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

** 'Hagrid,' said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. 'At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?'**

** 'Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir,' said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. 'Young Sirius Black lent it to me."**

"YEEEEAAH!" Sirius Jr. cried, fist in the air. "It's mine!" He grinned happily, not noticing the longing expression on his older self's face.

**"I've got her, sir.'**

** 'No problems, were there?'**

** 'No, sir – house was almost destroyed, but I got her out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. She fell asleep as we was flying over Bristol.' Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby girl, fast asleep. Under a lock of vibrant red hair on her forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning."**

"Aww!" Many of the girls cooed. Alex blushed and glared.

** "'Is that where – ?' whispered Professor McGonagall.**

** 'Yes,' said Dumbledore. 'She'll have that scar forever.'**

** 'Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?'**

** 'Even if I could, I wouldn't."**

"I wish you had." Alex mumbled, a hand flying unconsciously to cover her scar.

**"Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well – give her here, Hagrid – we'd better get this over with.' Dumbledore took Alex in his arms and turned towards the Dursleys' house. **

** 'Could I – could I say goodbye to her, sir?' asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Alex and gave her what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

** 'Shhh!' hissed Professor McGonagall, 'you'll wake the Muggles!'**

** 'S-s-sorry,' sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. 'But I c-c-can't stand it – Lily an' James dead –" **Anguished cries filled the hall once more. **"an' poor little Alex off ter live with Muggles – '**

** 'Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found,'"**

"Professor! How could you be so callous?" Hermione cried, scandalized. McGonagall looked down, ashamed.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans." She said sadly.

"It's quite alright, Professor. You were very stressed." Lily said kindly.

**"Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Alex gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Alex's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

** 'Well,' said Dumbledore finally, 'that's that."**

"Wait a moment. You left a baby on a doorstep in NOVEMBER?!" Amelia cried, her protective instinct kicking in. "Are you _insane_? She could have died! She could have been kidnapped! You're lucky she was still there when the Dursleys woke up in the morning!" Dumbledore paled at this, only realizing now the gravity of his actions. He turned to Alex.

"I am so sorry, my dear. I should have been more careful, and made sure Petunia got you." Alex wasn't sure what to make of all this, so she just shrugged. Meanwhile, all the parents and guardians in the room were fuming.

"Albus, you do realize that I had not been arrested yet at this point? You shouldn't have left her with Petunia at all." Sirius Sr. said quietly to Dumbledore, angry at the realization that Dumbledore had messed with the guardianship. Remus Sr., who was at Sirius Sr.'s side, nodded.

"And the werewolf restraining acts weren't passed until 1982. I could have taken her, even if Sirius couldn't." HE said angrily, glaring at the old man.

"As I have already told you, she needed to be with blood relatives." Dumbledore reminded them calmly, appearing unfazed by their accusations. However, before the conversation could continue, he cleared his throat and read again. **"We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations.'"**

"_Celebrations_? Right after James and Lily died? Dumbledore, you heartless old bastard! Even if you weren't that depressed yourself, couldn't you have at least taken it upon yourself to comfort those of us who had our entire _LIVES_ torn apart!" Sirius Sr. exclaimed. Then, to everyone's surprise, he turned to James. "James, my brother, I am so sorry. I've missed you more than the earth itself." He wrapped his arms around the miniature version of his best friend, and when he straightened up again there were tears in his eyes. James, taken by surprise, just hugged the elder version of his brother in all but blood.

"Sirius, mate, I don't know what you did, but I accept your apology. I, in turn, apologize for leaving you." He said in a rare moment of maturity. Sirius gave a watery smile.

"Thanks, James. You don't know how much that means to me." James nodded solemnly.

"I know that I don't, but I hope that soon I will." He said quietly, unsure of what to make of this older version of his best friend, who seemed to have been through much more than any of them had ever even dreamed of.

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore turned back to the reading with a hint of desperation. He was unused to being out of favor, and wanted very much to be back on people's good sides.

** "'Yeah,' said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, 'I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall – Professor Dumbledore, sir.' Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

** 'I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall,' said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked in once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four. 'Good luck, Alex,' he murmured. He turned on his heel, and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone. A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Alexandria Potter rolled over inside her blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside her and she slept on, not knowing she was special, not knowing she was famous, not knowing she would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that she would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by her cousin Dudley…"**

"The next few weeks? Try years." Alex said wryly. All who cared for her were concerned, but nobody said anything at that time.

**"She couldn't know that at that very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: 'To Alexandria Potter – the girl who lived!'" **Dumbledore finished reading and looked around. "That's the end of the chapter." He declared.

James stood up, looking shaken. "I- I- I don't know what to say." He said softly. Alex stood up too, and hugged him tightly.

"Well, I can say this now. It's good to finally be able to do this." She said, her head on his chest.

"Alex, honey, I'm so sorry… I wish it hadn't happened that way." Lily said, coming up behind them.

"This is so weird," Sirius Jr. said, trying to break the tension. "Meeting my best mate's daughter, who just happens to be the same age as us."

Meanwhile, across the room, Draco Malfoy was sitting and staring out the window, confused and irritated. He didn't know why he was here, as he certainly didn't want to read about Precious Potter's life. The way she interacted with her family, however, shocked him. It had never crossed his mind that she missed them. He just thought that, since she had never met them, naturally they didn't matter. And the emotion… It was all so foreign to him. None of his family acted like that, with their closeness, and the obvious love they had for each other… It fascinated and scared him.

* * *

_A/N: How do you like this chapter?_

_Oh, I need some opinions. Should this be a Manipulative Dumbledore story? Should I bash Weasleys? Who should be paired with whom?_

_thinking of pairing Regulus with either Ginny or Luna, but then again, they're all only 13.) _

"It's true though, my dear boy. Muggles do not wear cloaks and robes as we do." Dumbledore explained before going back to the story. **"Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes – the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together."**

"They should know not to do that in broad daylight!" Lily exclaimed, surprised.

"Ah, my dear, this was a very special day, and several people rather let their guard down." Dumbledore explained genially. "Now, back to the story? Yes. **Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him!" **the twins made to comment, but Molly silenced them with a look. **"But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt – these people were obviously collecting for something… yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. ****_He_**** didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though the people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead." **

"Honestly! I know that day was important, but this is a serious breach of the Statute of Secrecy!" Amelia burst out, speaking for the first time. Augusta turned to her friend, smiling slightly.

"Amelia, this was all years ago. I'm fairly certain that nothing bad came of it." She said gently. Amelia just nodded, defeated. She was usually a stickler for the rules, but she could tell that protesting was going to get her nowhere in these reading sessions.

**"Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood by lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs" **

"NO!" Cried Alex sarcastically.

Dumbledore smiled and continued on patiently as if she hadn't said anything. **"to buy himself a bun from the bakery."**

"The world is right again!" Alex exclaimed dramatically, putting a hand to her forehead. Her classmates were all confused, having never seen this lighthearted version of Alex before.

"Never knew you had a sense of humor, Lexie!" Charlie Weasley said, using the nickname he had made for her over the past summer. Alex just smiled mischievously.

**"He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying. 'The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard—' '—yes, their daughter, Alex—' **All the past people looked at Alex curiously. Unconsciously, Alex gripped both of her parents tighter. They both noticed this, but said nothing. **"Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name." **"Sensing the dissent, Dumbledore said "It isn't in the Muggle world." And continued on. **"He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a daughter named Alex. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his niece ****_was_**** called Alex. He'd never even seen the girl. It might have been Alice. Or Amanda. **

"No offence, Ali, but I would never name my child either of those." Lily stated. Alice shook her head.

"None taken, don't worry." She said, silently agreeing.

**"There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her – if ****_he'd _****had a sister like that…" **

"A sister like what, may I ask?" Alice asked, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Magical." Severus Jr. grunted bluntly.

**"but all the same, those people in cloaks… He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door. 'Sorry,' he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passerby stare,"**

"Flitwick!" Everyone said simultaneously. Dumbledore chuckled again and continued reading.

**"'****Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who **


	3. Author's note (sorry for false hopes)

I'm terribly sorry for such an unsatisfactory update after all this time, but I have made some changes. I'm tired of all the reactions and such, so I'm going to be posting two separate series', one after the other. The first will just be the story of Alexandria Potter, without the comments, and the second will take place after the books have been read, and may only be one book. I'm not certain yet how that will work, but if you look at my profile, you should find a new story, "Alexandria Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

Again, my apologies.

The Pessimistic Dreamer


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I'm posting this again, as it doesn't seem to show as an update on the story for some reason, so hopefully my readers will now transfer to the other story and not be too mad.**

I'm terribly sorry for such an unsatisfactory update after all this time, but I have made some changes. I'm tired of all the reactions and such, so I'm going to be posting two separate series', one after the other. The first will just be the story of Alexandria Potter, without the comments, and the second will take place after the books have been read, and may only be one book. I'm not certain yet how that will work, but if you look at my profile, you should find a new story, "Alexandria Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

Again, my apologies.

The Pessimistic Dreamer


End file.
